N.Y. Reaches $1 M Settlement for Landfill Cleanup

Feb 20, 2009

The state of New York has settled with more than 50 parties – including Corning, Ingersoll-Rand, Kraft Foods, NYSEG, and La-Z-Boy – for more than $1.1 million in reimbursement fees for the cleanup of landfills in Steuben and Yates counties. Each one was contaminated with hazardous waste, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said in a press release.

The money will help fund the cleanup of other hazardous waste sites in New York.

"DEC has worked to ensure the proper closure and oversight of these landfills and has partnered with the Attorney General's Office to make sure the responsible parties -- not the public -- pay for the clean-up costs," said Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis.

In Steuben County, five entities that disposed of hazardous waste at the Lindley Landfill on Gibson Road in the town of Lindley are required to collectively pay back the state $435,000 for its cleanup. The landfill was operated between 1977 and 1983 under the operation of the Steuben County Highway Department and was later named a hazardous waste site under New York State's Superfund program in 1991 after toxic chemicals, including lead and arsenic, were discovered in soils and water. The landfill was capped and a pollution control system was installed in 1998 that continues to operate under DEC oversight.

An investigation identified five entities that sent hazardous waste to the Lindley site: Corning, Inc., Ingersoll-Rand Co., Kraft Foods Global, Inc., New York State Electric and Gas Company (NYSEG), and the U.S. Veterans Administration.

In Yates County, 50 businesses and other entities that disposed of hazardous waste at the Torrey Landfill on Long Point Road in the town of Torrey are required to pay back $750,000 to the state for its cleanup. The landfill, which operated between 1972 and 1984 under the supervision of Yates County, was designated a Superfund site in 1987 due to high levels of toxic substances released in the groundwater and surface water, including the metals barium and iron, and the carcinogens carbon tetrachloride and 1, 2-dichloroethane. The landfill was capped and a pollution control system was installed in 1998 that continues to operate under DEC oversight.